VOASE0301_Education Report

01 March 2007

Studying in the US: Rules About Alcohol
Policies on college drinking are the subject of Part 26 of our Foreign Student Series.

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This is the VOA Special English Education Report.

The legal age for drinking alcohol in the United States is twenty-one. Underage drinking is a crime but also a common part of college social life. This week in our Foreign Student Series, we look at alcohol policies at American colleges and universities.

Never too young: A drunk-driving accident is acted out at a high school north of Los Angeles as part of alcohol education efforts

These policies differ from school to school, as do enforcement efforts. But many schools have been moving to strengthen their rules.

The United States has more than seventeen million students in higher education. Each year, one thousand seven hundred of them age eighteen to twenty-four die from alcohol-related road crashes and other injuries.

Six hundred thousand more are injured while under the influence of alcohol. And almost seven hundred thousand are attacked by another student who has been drinking.

These numbers, from a two thousand five report, are on a government Web site: collegedrinkingprevention.gov.

One behavior that college officials are trying to prevent is binge drinking, having four or five drinks or more in a short period of time. Some researchers have found that students who think binge drinking is normal often overestimate how much other students really drink. A person can die of alcohol poisoning.

At the University of Oklahoma, new policies went into effect after a nineteen-year-old student died in two thousand four. He had been drinking heavily at a fraternity party.

Now alcohol is banned from all fraternity and sorority houses and university housing. Student organizations can serve alcohol at events but only on Friday and Saturday nights. And they must provide for transportation to and from off-campus parties. Other new requirements include an alcohol education program that first-year students take online.

The policies govern behavior on campus and off. With a first violation, students pay seventy-five dollars and their parents are told. They must also take an alcohol education class. For a second "strike," they have to pay one hundred fifty dollars. A third strike means a suspension for at least one semester.

Since January of two thousand five, six hundred thirty-three students have had a first strike. Thirty have had a second strike -- and one has been suspended. An official at Oklahoma tells us the aim is not just to punish but to change behavior and the culture at the university.

And that's the VOA Special English Education Report, written by Nancy Steinbach. Transcripts and audio files of our Foreign Student Series are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

Italian Government Survives Confidence Vote by Slim Margin

By Sabina Castelfranco Rome 28 February 2007

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Italy's Prime Minister Romano Prodi won a confidence vote in the Senate on Wednesday, exactly one week after he submitted his resignation. Sabina Castelfranco reports from Rome for VOA that the vote ensured the survival of his nine-month-old center-left government, at least for the moment.

Senate speaker Franco Marini read out the result of the much-waited confidence vote. He said there were 320 senators who were present in the upper house for the vote. The majority needed was 160 and the result of the vote was 162 votes in favor and 157 against.

Prime Minister Romano Prodi after winning a confidence vote in the Senate

The government of Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi survived the vote, which had been in question right until the very end. Prodi resigned last week after a defeat in the Senate on the government's foreign policy.

Following consultations with the country's party leaders, the Italian president had asked Mr. Prodi to stay on and put his Cabinet to new confidence votes in parliament. On Friday, the prime minister will submit his nine-month government to a vote in the lower house, where he has a comfortable majority.

Pointing to Mr. Prodi's two vote margin of victory in the Senate, many opposition leaders say the government will not be able to stay afloat for long.

Electoral law in Italy favors broad coalitions, such as Mr. Prodi's bickering Catholic-to-communist alliance, rather than strong majorities. The law is widely blamed for the country's political instability, which has given Italy 61 governments since World War II. Mr. Prodi has promised electoral reform if confirmed in his job.

Mr. Prodi said before the vote that there was general agreement that the electoral law must be changed - that an electoral law must be found that would guarantee governance in Italy.

The government's five-year mandate expires in 2011 but its future stability, with such a tiny majority in the Senate, is doubtful.

In a sign of the continuing difficulties facing Mr. Prodi, some coalition senators said Wednesday that while they supported the government in the confidence vote, they continued to be opposed to the country's military presence in Afghanistan and would vote against an upcoming measure to refinance the mission there.

US Investigator Says Iraqis Steadily Taking Over Reconstruction

By Gary Thomas Washington 28 February 2007

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Last month the U.S. Special Inspector-General for Iraq Reconstruction issued a blistering report on waste and abuse in U.S.-funded reconstruction programs in Iraq. Speaking to VOA, Stuart Bowen now says improved mechanisms are in place to monitor how money is being spent as the burden for reconstruction shifts from the United States to the Iraqi government. VOA Correspondent Gary Thomas talked to the investigator.

Stuart Bowen (Jan 2007 photo)

Speaking to VOA by telephone from Baghdad, Special Inspector-General Stuart Bowen says the time has come for Iraq to shoulder the financial burden of its reconstruction.

"The theme, and why this theme is such an important watershed moment, is that it marks the end of the phase wherein the United States will bear the preponderant financial burden for the relief and reconstruction of Iraq," said Stuart Bowen. "That burden has now in earnest shifted to the Iraqis and the Iraqi government."

Congress created a $21-billion Iraq Reconstruction Fund in 2003, but those funds have all been used. Bowen says the United States will continue to have a financial role to play in Iraq, but it will be along more traditional lines.

"It signals the evolution, the beginning of the evolution, of the U.S. role in Iraq to a support role, and it will continue to evolve into a traditional relief and support role," he said. "But I call the current phase 'foreign aid plus-plus,' which means there is still a significant and continuing role for the United States to play in financially and otherwise supporting Iraq."

At the end of January, Bowen's office issued a report that outlined cases of corruption and waste in reconstruction programs, including among some U.S. contractors. Some cases are under examination by the U.S. Justice Department for possible criminal charges.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice came under grueling examination Tuesday from senators on the Appropriations Committee about wasteful spending in Iraq. Rice admitted there had been what she termed problems with some contractors, but denied there has been widespread abuse of U.S. reconstruction funds.

"In terms of the funding that was provided by the Congress under the Iraqi Reconstruction Fund, I think that there have been some problems with some particular contracts; a particular contract, for instance, for health clinics and health services," said Condoleezza Rice. "But I do not believe that there has been a claim of widespread - of abuse of the funding that was provided under the IRF [Iraq Reconstruction Fund]."

Bowen said he found in this, his 15th trip to Iraq, that new both U.S. and Iraqi mechanisms are in place to try bring corruption under control and transparency to contracting.

Bowen adds that, under Congressional mandate, his office will soon begin a detailed, year-long audit of all reconstruction programs.

"A forensic audit is really a stem to stern review of the capital investment in Iraq, namely, the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund," he said. "That will answer a lot of the questions that many have about what was wasted and what worked."

The Inspector-General report also said the security situation has greatly hampered reconstruction efforts, especially in Baghdad, and caused some reconstruction funds to be redirected to security issues. Electricity in the capital, for example, remained at pre-war levels in the last quarter of the year.

Bowen says power facilities are under constant attack, and crews who might repair them are in great danger.

"Infrastructure security is a problem," noted Stuart Bowen. "The Baghdad ring, as it is called, the electric lines and towers that provide electricity to the capital city, has been subject over the last nine to 12 months to incessant attacks."

The Bush Administration has asked for an additional $1.2 billion for reconstruction and expects the international community to step into the financial breach. But Bowen said the response has been disappointing, with $13 billion in reconstruction aid pledged by donor countries, but only $3 billion received.

US: No Direct Talks with Iran, Syria at Iraq Meetings

By Paula Wolfson White House 28 February 2007

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The Bush administration says there will be no direct talks with representatives of Iran and Syria at two upcoming conferences on Iraq. VOA's Paula Wolfson has details at the White House.

The White House has been under pressure in recent months to hold bilateral negotiations with both Iran and Syria on Iraq and other issues.

Tony Snow

Officials from Washington, Tehran and Damascus are all expected to take part in conferences on Iraq. But even though they will be in the same room, White House Spokesman Tony Snow says he expects no direct discussions on the sidelines.

"There will not be bilateral talks between the United States and Iran or the United States and Syria within the context of these meetings," said Tony Snow. "These are organized by the Iraqis and these are on issues that are pertinent to Iraq."

At a briefing for White House reporters, Snow said the decision to attend the two Iraqi conferences does not mean there has been a shift in Bush administration policy. And he noted that this is not the first time that the three countries have all attended a multilateral meeting.

The United States has diplomatic relations with Syria, although ties have been strained by what the Bush administration sees as Syrian meddling in Lebanon and unwillingness to take strong action to stop foreign fighters from crossing its border into Iraq.

The U.S. severed diplomatic ties with Iran in 1979, and the Bush administration has made clear any improvement is contingent on a decision by Tehran to end its nuclear enrichment program.

Snow said that position has not changed.

"It is important that people understand that this administration is serious when it comes to the Iranians about a precondition for bilateral negotiations and also for diplomatic relations, which is they can't be working toward a nuclear weapon," he said.

Snow stressed the United States has long supported the idea of an international conference organized by the Iraqi government. An initial meeting of envoys from world and regional powers will be held in Baghdad on March 10. A follow-up gathering at the ministerial level is expected to take place in the first half of April somewhere in the region.

VOASE0228_The Making of a Nation

28 February 2007

History Series: A Freeze Hits US-Soviet Relations After World War Two
The Cold War was a major force in world politics during much of the 20th century.

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VOICE ONE:

This is Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Phil Murray with THE MAKING OF A NATION -- a VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

(MUSIC)

Today, we tell about the period known as the Cold War.

VOICE ONE:

The Cold War began after World War Two. The main enemies were the United States and the Soviet Union.

The Cold War got its name because both sides were afraid of fighting each other directly. In such a "hot war," nuclear weapons might destroy everything. So, instead, they fought each other indirectly. They supported conflicts in different parts of the world. They also used words as weapons. They threatened and denounced each other. Or they tried to make each other look foolish.

VOICE TWO:

Over the years, leaders on both sides changed. Yet the Cold War continued. It was the major force in world politics for most of the second half of the twentieth century.

Historians disagree about how long the Cold War lasted. Some believe it ended when the United States and the Soviet Union improved relations during the nineteen sixties and early nineteen seventies. Others believe it ended when the Berlin Wall was torn down in nineteen eighty-nine.

VOICE ONE:

The Cold War world was separated into three groups. The United States led the West. This group included countries with democratic political systems. The Soviet Union led the East. This group included countries with communist political systems. The Non-Aligned group included countries that did not want to be tied to either the West or the East.

Harry Truman

VOICE TWO:

Harry Truman was the first American president to fight the Cold War. He used several policies. One was the Truman Doctrine. This was a plan to give money and military aid to countries threatened by communism. The Truman Doctrine effectively stopped communists from taking control of Greece and Turkey.

Another policy was the Marshall Plan. This strengthened the economies and governments of countries in Western Europe.

VOICE ONE:

C-47s unloading at Tempelhof Airport in Berlin.

A major event in the Cold War was the Berlin Airlift. In June nineteen forty-eight, the Soviets blocked all ways into the western part of Berlin, Germany. President Truman quickly ordered military planes to fly coal, food, and medicine to the city.

The planes kept coming, sometimes landing every few minutes, for more than a year. The United States received help from Britain and France. Together, they provided almost two and one-half million tons of supplies on about two hundred-eighty thousand flights.

VOICE TWO:

The United States also led the formation of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in nineteen forty-nine. NATO was a joint military group. Its purpose was to defend against Soviet forces in Europe. The first members of NATO were Belgium, Britain, Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and the United States.

The Soviet Union and its east European allies formed their own joint military group -- the Warsaw Pact -- six years later.

VOICE ONE:

In nineteen fifty-three, Soviet leader Joseph Stalin died. His death gave the new American president, Dwight Eisenhower, a chance to deal with new Soviet leaders.

In July, nineteen fifty-five, Eisenhower and Nikolai Bulganin met in Geneva, Switzerland. The leaders of Britain and France also attended.

Eisenhower proposed that the Americans and Soviets agree to let their military bases be inspected by air by the other side. The Soviets later rejected the proposal. Yet the meeting in Geneva was not considered a failure. After all, the leaders of the world's most powerful nations had shaken hands.

VOICE TWO:

Cold War tensions increased, then eased, then increased again over the years. The changes came as both sides actively tried to influence political and economic developments around the world.

For example, the Soviet Union provided military, economic, and technical aid to communist governments in Asia. The United States then helped eight Asian nations fight communism by establishing the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization.

In the middle nineteen fifties, the United States began sending military advisers to help south Vietnam defend itself against communist North Vietnam. That aid would later expand into a long and bloody period of American involvement in Vietnam.

VOICE ONE:

The Cold War also affected the Middle East. In the nineteen fifties, both East and West offered aid to Egypt to build the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River. The West cancelled its offer, however, after Egypt bought weapons from the communist government of Czechoslovakia.

Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser then seized control of the company that operated the Suez Canal. A few months later, Israel invaded Egypt. France and Britain joined the invasion.

VOICE TWO:

For once, the United States and the Soviet Union agreed on a major issue. Both supported a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire.

The Suez crisis was a political victory for the Soviets. When the Soviet Union supported Egypt, it gained new friends in the Arab world.

VOICE ONE:

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, left, with President Dwight Eisenhower

In nineteen fifty-nine, Cold War tensions eased a little. The new Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, visited Dwight Eisenhower at his holiday home near Washington. The meeting was very friendly. But the next year, relations got worse again.

An American military plane was shot down over the Soviet Union. Eisenhower admitted that such planes had been spying on the Soviets for four years. In a speech at the United Nations, Khrushchev got so angry that he took off his shoe and beat it on a table.

VOICE TWO:

John Kennedy followed Eisenhower as president in nineteen sixty-one. During his early days in office, Cuban exiles invaded Cuba. They wanted to oust the communist government of Fidel Castro. The exiles had been trained by America's Central Intelligence Agency. The United States failed to send military planes to protect them during the invasion. As a result, almost all were killed or taken prisoner.

In Europe, tens of thousands of East Germans had fled to the West. East Germany's communist government decided to stop them. It built a wall separating the eastern and western parts of the city of Berlin. Guards shot at anyone who tried to flee by climbing over.

VOICE ONE:

During Kennedy's second year in office, American intelligence reports discovered Soviet missiles in Cuba. The Soviet Union denied they were there. American photographs proved they were.

The Cuban missile crisis easily could have resulted in a nuclear war. But it ended after a week. Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles if the United States agreed not to interfere in Cuba.

VOICE TWO:

Some progress was made in easing Cold War tensions when Kennedy was president. In nineteen sixty-three, the two sides reached a major arms control agreement. They agreed to ban tests of nuclear weapons above ground, under water, and in space. They also established a direct telephone line between the White House and the Kremlin.

Relations between East and West also improved when Richard Nixon was president. He and Leonid Brezhnev met several times. They reached several arms control agreements. One reduced the number of missiles used to shoot down enemy nuclear weapons. It also banned the testing and deployment of long-distance missiles for five years.

VOICE ONE:

A major change in the Cold War took place in nineteen eighty-five. That is when Mikhail Gorbachev became leader of the Soviet Union. Gorbachev held four meetings with President Ronald Reagan. He withdrew Soviet forces from Afghanistan. And he signed an agreement with the United States to destroy all middle-distance and short-distance nuclear missiles.

VOICE TWO:

By nineteen eighty-nine, there was widespread unrest in eastern Europe. Gorbachev did not intervene as these countries cut their ties with the Soviet Union.

The Berlin Wall, the major symbol of communist oppression, was torn down in November. In less than a year, East and West Germany became one nation again. A few months after that, the Warsaw Pact was dissolved. The Cold War was over.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This program of THE MAKING OF A NATION was written by Jeri Watson and produced by Paul Thompson. This is Doug Johnson.

VOICE TWO:

And this is Phil Murray. Join us again next week for another VOA Special English program about the history of the United States.

Man Accused of Spying for Israel Returns to Egyptian Court

By Leslie Boctor Cairo 28 February 2007

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An Egyptian Canadian man accused of spying for Israel appeared in an Egyptian court where he denied many of the allegations that have swirled around the unusual case. Leslie Boctor has more for VOA from Cairo.

Mohamed Essam Ghoneim El Attar flashes the victory sign while being escorted to speak with State Court Judge Sayed al-Gohari (R) during his second day in court in Cairo, 28 Feb 2007

From his heavily guarded prison cage, Mohamed El Attar shouted his innocence to the judge, and told journalists that a police officer had beaten and used electric shocks on him while in solitary confinement for four weeks and forced him to drink his own urine.

El Attar has been charged with spying on behalf of Israel, but the court proceedings focused heavily on his denial that he is a convert to Christianity or a homosexual. Shaking his head vigorously, El Attar denied he had converted to Christianity, as he previously confessed, saying that he is a believing Muslim.

The trial of Mohamad El Attar has come to be referred to as simply "el Ghesous il ginz", or the sex spy. But today at his second court appearance, El Attar denied the strange allegations surrounding his case, including those of homosexuality.

Egyptian authorities have charged Mohamad El Attar with working as a low-level agent for Israeli intelligence while living in Canada and Turkey. The 300-page court file outlines a confession that El Attar has now said he was coerced into giving.

His confession states that he had sought asylum in 2003 in Canada on the basis of his homosexuality. He claimed to have converted from Islam to Christianity. He said that he used his position at a Toronto bank to track financial transactions within the Arab community, and had recruited 20 Arab Canadians to work for Israeli intelligence.

The lively court proceedings were repeatedly interrupted by journalists and the accused shouting out questions and commentary to the judge. At one point during the proceedings, the judge asked him to approach the bench to inspect his ears to determine if one of them was pierced, and declared there was no pierced ear.

His last lawyer, who dropped the case after the first court appearance, said that when he visited El Attar in prison, he had dyed red hair and was wearing an earring. He also stated El Attar had been cut off by his family because of the charges brought against him.

Current El Attar lawyer, Ibrahim Bassoyouni, said that his family had not abandoned him and had been visiting him in jail. He said that El Attar had originally pleaded guilty to the charges because of the advice of his first lawyer and that he told Bassoyouni his alleged testimony was false.

"Mohamad El Attar told me the reports of his confession that were attributed to him during his interrogation were not true and that he did not say any of the claims that were being made in his name," Bassoyouni said.

Bassyouni also added he was confident El Attar would be found innocent. El Attar was arrested in Cairo at the beginning of January while on a trip to visit his family.

Egyptian police have also issued warrants for three Israelis who have been charged as part of the alleged spy ring. The Egyptian authorities said El-Attar came to Canada in 2003 with the help of his Israeli handlers.

Iran, Sudan Hold Talks in Khartoum

By Cathy Majtenyi Nairobi 28 February 2007

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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is in Sudan for two days of meetings with his Sudanese counterpart and other officials. The talks are expected to cover the situation in Darfur, Iran's controversial nuclear program, and economic and cultural projects between the two countries. Cathy Majtenyi reports for VOA from Nairobi.

Sudanese President Omar el-Bashir, right, chats with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad before their talks in Khartoum, 28 Feb 2007

Ministry of Information advisor Rabie Abdul Atti tells VOA that discussions on Darfur and Iran's nuclear program are expected to top the agenda Mr. Ahmadinejad's visit.

Atti says Iran may also offer support to the cash strapped African Union troops who are in Darfur to monitor a ceasefire between the government and a rebel group.

"What will be discussed between the two presidents will be, I think, the help that Iran provides to Sudan - financial help - to ensure security and to resolve this crisis in Darfur, and to assist and support [the] Sudan government in the humanitarian issues: the return of the displaced to their villages, and also to establish security in the area that is witnessing conflicts between the rebels and the government," he said.

Regarding Iran's nuclear program, Atti says President Bashir will likely encourage his counterpart to pursue peaceful ends.

"I think the stance of Sudan regarding nuclear projects is very clear: that nuclear projects should be used only for peaceful means and not to be used for destructive weapons. I think that Sudan will boost Iran in this direction and not in the direction of making nuclear projects for manufacturing destructive weapons," he said.

Both Iran and Sudan are being heavily criticized by the United Nations Security Council and others in the West: Iran for its uranium enrichment program; and Sudan for its failure to stop the bloodshed in Darfur, which is considered one of the world's worst humanitarian crisis and one the United States has labeled genocide.

The U.N. Security Council is discussing expanding its sanctions on Iran for it's nuclear program.

Sudan has resisted efforts to allow a United Nations peacekeeping force to enter Darfur, where the four-year-old conflict has killed some 200,000 people and displaced more than two million, arguing that such a move would undermine Sudan's sovereignty.

Sudan is also resisting efforts by the International Criminal Court to find and prosecute people suspected of committing war crimes in the volatile area. The court named two suspects Tuesday, but the Sudanese government vowed not to hand them over.

The Iranian president is scheduled to be in Sudan for two days.

Ministry of Information advisor Atti says the two countries are expected to review past agreements and discuss new projects in the areas of agriculture, electricity, gas, and others.